NanoMarkets Releases New Report on Thin-Film and Printed Batteries

GLEN ALLEN, Va., June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Industry analyst firm NanoMarkets has announced its latest report on battery markets titled, "Thin-Film and Printed Battery Markets - 2012".  This report reappraises these markets in an environment where marketing and applications development has become more important than technology development and the surviving firms are moving towards profitability. The report claims that by 2016, the value of products shipped that are powered by thin-film/printed batteries will reach $6.5 billion ($US). 

Additional details about the report are available at: http://nanomarkets.net/market_reports/report/thin_film_and_printed_battery_markets_2012

About the Report:

In this new NanoMarkets report we address thin-film/printed battery applications including smartcards, sensors, RFID, smart packaging, disposable electronics/interactive media, cosmetic/pharmaceutical patches, medical implants, and semiconductor industry applications.

For each application the report contains separate forecasts in unit and value terms for thin-film and printed battery shipments.  It also includes forecasts by battery chemistry and of the products containing this specialized form of battery.  Finally, it has strategic profiles leading suppliers of thin-film and printed batteries including Blue Spark, Cymbet, Enfucell, Planar Energy Devices, Rocket Electric, Solicore and Ultralife.  Other organizations discussed include Micross Components, NEC, Oak Ridge National Lab, PARC, Pragmatic Printing, Printed Electronics, Rogers Corporation, RR Donnelley, Sealed Air, Sony, UT-Battelle and VTT.

Findings from the Report:

Despite bankruptcies (e.g. Power Paper) and the failure of RFID to rapidly adopt thin-film/printed batteries, investors remain willing to put money into this segment as evidenced by both Solicore and Infinite Power Solutions having received recent funding rounds from top-tier VCs and strategic investors.  Meanwhile, firms in this space have established plausible business models that will lead to high-volume output and profitability within two years.  This will be helped by battery makers' strong supply chain infrastructures and partnerships with outsourced manufacturers and innovative OEMs. 

Successful firms will be those with strong focus on being application specific. Smartcard and sensor-related applications will dominate the market for much of the report's forecast period.  Eventually, disposable electronics/interactive media will also generate significant revenues.

Smartcards present a compelling market for thin-film and printed battery firms as both Bank of America and e-Bay now offer powered smartcards that have the ability to significantly reduce today's massive monetary losses due to credit card fraud.  This sector is dominated by Solicore for now but NanoMarkets fully expects to see other firms making a strong play for the market. By 2016, the value of smartcard products containing thin-film and printed batteries will be around $960 million.

Wireless sensors also offer a significant opportunity for battery makers as they are well suited to higher performance thin-film batteries with long lifetimes/times between charges.  Another sensor powering opportunity is combining an energy harvesting device with a thin-film battery. This could allow sensors to never run out of energy.  However, the batteries for this application are expensive and success in this sector depends on battery makers' ability to sell on a total cost basis, rather than on initial cost.  In 2016, the value of sensor products using thin-film/printed batteries will be $4 billion.

About NanoMarkets:

NanoMarkets tracks and analyzes emerging markets in energy, electronics and other area created by developments in advanced materials. The firm is a recognized leader in industry analysis and forecasts of this kind and has been covering the battery sector for more than six years.

Visit http://www.nanomarkets.net for a full listing of NanoMarkets' reports and other services.

SOURCE NanoMarkets